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Avery Bradley on fire: Is Boston Celtics teammate Jordan Crawford, um, playing the role of Rajon Rondo?

AVERY_BRADLEY_MAGIC-11-11.JPG

Boston Celtics point guard Avery Bradley celebrates after a point against the Orlando Magic during the second half of an NBA basketball game, in Boston, Monday, Nov. 11, 2013. Bradley had 24 points as the Celtics defeated the Magic 120-105.
(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Was Avery Bradley’s brief run of steady shooting in 2011-12 a fluke? Does he need Rajon Rondo at point guard? Will he ever redevelop into the two-way player who, two seasons ago, started at shooting guard in the best lineup in basketball?

Bradley began this season shooting very well from midrange, prompting optimism he had rediscovered a shooting stroke that went missing last year (when he returned from double shoulder surgery midway through the season). But he was taking too many shots from that inefficient distance and had not yet found his 3-point stroke. Though he was shooting better, based on both the numbers and the eye test, he had not returned to being a decent offensive player. Given that he rarely gets assists and can’t be trusted to run an offense competently, his inefficient scoring was a real problem.

That’s changed over the past 11 games, though. During that span Bradley is shooting 48 percent from the field and 54 percent from the 3-point arc. His 55.5 percent true shooting (a measurement of shooting efficiency that weighs the relative value of free throws, 2s and 3s) puts him better than the league average. And since December, Bradley has been even better: He’s shooting 49 percent from the field, 61 percent on 3s, and a blistering 68 percent (13-of-19) from the shorter corner 3-pointer. Maybe more importantly, he’s taking more corner 3s and fewer midrange jumpers than he did earlier in the season.

If it continues, the shift in shot profile should make a major difference even once Bradley inevitably stops making almost three-quarters of his corner 3s.

“There are very few people that I’ve coached over the last 14 years that require a lot of prodding to shoot. But I think the bottom line is he’s taking pretty good ones,” head coach Brad Stevens said after Saturday’s practice. “Especially over the last 11 games I think it’s been really good. He’s going to have to take some tough shots at times because he’s going to have the ball at the end of the shot clock. But he’s really got a nice rhythm shooting the ball and we want him to continue to shoot it.”

Though Bradley is finally succeeding without Rondo, his recent success (should it be a real, lasting thing) begs the question: Does Bradley need a highly competent point guard alongside him, or just any point guard at all? Jordan Crawford, who has been a good point guard this year, has essentially served in the Rondo role.

Check the following splits of Bradley from 2011-12 with Rondo on and off the court, and Bradley from this season with Crawford on and off (courtesy of NBA.com):

Weird, right? Or maybe not.

We know Bradley’s not a point guard, but I’m still not sure we know whether he needs a point guard alongside him operating at a high level. The good news for Celtics fans: The team already has Crawford and could have Rondo in a month or so. The four-time All-Star was cleared for full practices Friday, so we shouldn’t have to find out whether Bradley can succeed without a good point guard. Not this year, at least. (Note: Unless Crawford stops being Good Crawford before Rondo returns.) (Note 2: Bradley is noted for a great work ethic and could develop into more of a combo-guard down the road. Two years from now, maybe even one, he might not rely so heavily on a point guard.)

Anyway, teams might start to overplay Bradley in the corner if he keeps shooting like Ray Allen’s illegitimate brother.

“Then your roller’s open. That’s the beautiful part of the game,” Stevens said. “You see it last night: He hits the corner 3 and on the very next play Vitor (Faverani) rolls right behind his defender (for a layup from Jordan Crawford). That’s how that works. A player told one of my own bosses one time: He said, ‘They’re not leaving me in the corner.’ And he told him, ‘Well, get a good angle to see your teammate lay it in.’ That’s why you have to play together. That’s why five parts have to be moving together.”

Bradley has given plenty of credit to assistant coach Ron Adams for his improved shot. But after Friday’s win against New York, the guard reminded reporters that he’s the one putting in the extra work.

“All season he’s been aggressive, really aggressive, shooting. To me it really shows how confident he is in his shot and how much work he put in in the summertime,” Brandon Bass said. “It’s huge. If he wants to be a big-time two-guard, that’s the things he has to do.”

Humphries expected back Monday

Kris Humphries, who has missed two games with a bone bruise in his right knee, did not practice Saturday. Still, Stevens said the power forward “is scheduled to play Monday (against Minnesota) unless something changes.”